The NFL draft is still two weeks away, so no team's 2014 composition has truly come into focus yet. But with the regular-season schedule now released, why not begin speculating about how things could play out by circling a potentially key date on each club's calendar?

Arizona Cardinals: The 49ers come to the desert Sept. 21, a barometer which could foreshadow whether the Cards will step up in class in the NFC West or just be another tough out that will finish out of the playoff picture.

Atlanta Falcons: After playing three road games in four weeks, they'll "host" the Lions in London on Oct. 26 with a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff. Survive that portion of the schedule in good shape, and the Falcons may be ready to return to relevance.

Baltimore Ravens: They'll visit archrival Pittsburgh on Nov. 2, the end of a five-game stretch which has Baltimore on the road four times. Once past this date, the Ravens only have one more divisional matchup (Browns in Week 17), so they should have a fairly strong idea where they're headed.

Buffalo Bills: They've been manhandled by the Patriots this entire century. But the Bills' Oct. 12 game against New England begins a five-week period when they leave western New York just once. Good place for EJ Manuel and Co. to make a move up the pecking order.

Carolina Panthers: Not only will they face Steve Smith's wrath Sept. 28 in Baltimore, they'll get to assess an overhauled O-line and wideout corps against a perennially powerful defense.

Chicago Bears: A defense that finished dead last against the run in 2013 will face a major test against the ground-pounding 49ers on Sept. 14 (a game bracketed by matchups with the run-reliant Bills and Jets).

Cincinnati Bengals: They conclude a three-game homestand against the Browns on Nov. 6. After that, they're away from Cincinnati for five of the final seven weeks, so it'd be a good idea to have plenty of hay in the barn once they face their instra-state rivals.

Cleveland Browns: They host the Ravens on Sept. 21 before heading into a Week 4 bye. It's early, but this could be the node where the Browns decide to stick with local favorite Brian Hoyer or start prepping the quarterback of the future they're expected to draft.

VIDEO: Tom Pelissero's five must-see games

USA TODAY Sports' Tom Pelissero picks his top five games of the NFL calendar.
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Dallas Cowboys: It always comes (crashing?) down to Week 17 for Dallas, and this year's date (Dec. 28) is at Washington.

Denver Broncos: They'll be in Seattle on Sept. 21, where they'll quickly find out if their offseason reinforcements can significantly close the gap on a team that embarrassed the Broncos in the Super Bowl.

Detroit Lions: Following tough visits to Arizona and New England, they'll be joined at the Motown Thanksgiving Day table by the Bears on Nov. 27. Will the Lions be heating playoff gravy, or will they get mashed?

Green Bay Packers: Their Oct. 26 contest in New Orleans should provide must-see TV as master playcallers Mike McCarthy and Sean Payton square off alongside super slingers Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. If the NFC West teams beat each other up, this is the kind of game that could separate one of these teams from the conference pack.

Houston Texans: Their first five outings are against non-playoff teams from 2013 before they host the reigning AFC South champion Colts in front of a Thursday night national audience Oct. 9. This game could tell new coach Bill O'Brien whether his team is ready to return to contention or is in need of a major rebuild.

Indianapolis Colts: Coming off their bye, they'll throw out the welcome mat Nov. 16 for the Patriots, who embarrassed the Colts in last season's playoffs. Time to find out if this rivalry is truly back, and if the Colts, who own the league's easiest schedule (opponents had .430 winning percentage in 2013), can vie for a high playoff seed in 2014.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Three of their four September games are against 2013 playoff teams, concluding with a Sept. 28 date in San Diego. By this point, it should be evident if last year's late-season pluck is blossoming into something more, or if the Jags will be scuttled by another slow start.

Kansas City Chiefs: On Oct. 5, QB Alex Smith takes his new team to San Francisco — well, Santa Clara anyway — where he'll have to balance a desire for payback vs. the 49ers while knowing he can't press against such a strong team. The Niners are the third of four playoff teams the Chiefs will see in their first six games, and Andy Reid will quickly determine if his team has regressed or not after losing so many key contributors to a tight salary cap.

Miami Dolphins: Their Sept. 21 tilt with the Chiefs and Pro Bowl pass rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston should provide a quick gauge of whether a refurbished O-line can finally safeguard Ryan Tannehill, the NFL's most-sacked quarterback in 2013.

Minnesota Vikings: They host Detroit on Oct. 12, kicking off a five-game span against non-playoff teams. This could be the point where Matt Cassel launches a fresh playoff drive or gives way to the rookie quarterback the Vikings are to enlist.

New England Patriots: Brady-Manning XVI falls on Nov. 2 in Foxborough, Mass., and could determine if the Pats or Broncos get the AFC's home field in January.

New Orleans Saints: They often hit the canvas against heavyweight teams in 2013 (though they did edge San Francisco in a controversial game). The Saints will find out how well they take a punch when the 49ers return to the Superdome on Nov. 9.

New York Giants: After enduring a career-worst number of sacks (39) and interceptions (27) in 2013, Eli Manning could be subject to all kinds of horrors in Seattle on Nov. 9 unless his altered supporting cast has coalesced.

New York Jets: Rex Ryan likes to stack up his squads against Bill Belichick's perennial powerhouse in New England. The Jets and quarterback Michael Vick (or will it be Geno Smith?) get their first crack at the Pats and some guy named Revis in a Thursday night game at Foxborough on Oct. 16.

Oakland Raiders: They'll be in London on Sept. 28 to play the Dolphins, the third non-playoff team Oakland draws in September. If the revamped Raiders aren't competitive by then, it probably won't happen as the league's toughest schedule starts spitting out AFC West and NFC West opponents at Oakland.

Philadelphia Eagles: They could find out during a Dec. 7 home game against the Seahawks if Chip Kelly's offense is capable of solving the league's premier defense.

Pittsburgh Steelers: They rarely miss postseason in consecutive years, but they never recovered from a horrific start in 2013. They'll have a good chance to reverse that trend this year. An Oct. 20 date with the Texans marks Pittsburgh's sixth non-playoff opponent in the first seven weeks of this year's schedule. Make-or-break stretch.

St. Louis Rams: Is Jeff Fisher's team poised for a breakthrough? He'll know after the Rams host the 49ers in prime time (Monday night, Oct. 13) and Seahawks six days later.

San Diego Chargers: They rode a hot December to a wild-card berth in 2013. This year, they'll make a tough cross-country trip to Baltimore on Nov. 30 before embarking on a December lineup featuring four clubs that landed in postseason last year.

San Francisco 49ers: They'll have to wait until Thanksgiving night (Nov. 27) before getting their first crack at the Seahawks, a game that may once again telegraph NFC preeminence.

Seattle Seahawks: They only lost at home once in 2013 — to Arizona. The Cards return to the Pacific Northwest on Nov. 23 in a game that might reveal whether they're a bona fide challenger to the champs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What better way for coach Lovie Smith to mark his new program's progress than a Nov. 23 visit to a Chicago team he coached pretty effectively for nine years.

Tennessee Titans: They host the Texans on Oct. 26, capping a four-game cluster of October games against teams that each won fewer than five games in 2013. New Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt should know by this juncture whether he has a dangerous team and if Jake Locker really is a long-term solution under center.

Washington Redskins: They conclude what may be the defining stretch of their season — four away dates in a five-game span — with a journey to Indianapolis on Nov. 30, a place where Robert Griffin III gets his first chance to show Colts fans what might have been.